Don’t miss your Fota opportunity!
One of the absolute best things about Cork is Fota Wildlife Park.
It’s been a part of Cork’s identity for over 40 years now and, through its world class conservational and educational efforts, the park has grown into something truly special.
Set over 100 sprawling acres on the scenic Fota Island in Cork Harbour, the park is home to close to 80 different species and welcomes almost half a million guest every year.
Just 10km east of Cork city, Fota is easily accessible by car or train, with ample parking available for a cost of just €3 which grants access to Fota House and Gardens.
Visitors to the park will meet meercats, penguins, ostriches, zebras, giraffes, flamingos, pelicans, all manner of primates, cheetahs, seals, bison, and so much more, all living in safe, spacious, and comfortable enclosures, apart from the cheeky lemur troop who roam freely throughout the park!
Just last month the park welcomed its newest family members in the form of five ring-tailed lemur pups, a species which faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild. The births marked a significant success in the park’s endangered species breeding programme, increasing the total number of ring-tailed lemurs in the troop to 18.
The passionate people at Fota Wildlife Park strive to help us understand and conserve the biodiversity of the natural world. The park’s core values of conservation, education, and research have ensured that it is uniquely placed to foster greater public understanding of the threats to plant and animal habitats and decreasing global biodiversity.
The park has invested considerably over the past decade upgrading its infrastructure including an indoor giraffe viewing area, the Madagascan Village, and the Asian Sanctuary which opened in 2015 and features Asian lions, Sumatran tigers, and Indian rhino.
There is a seemingly endless list of things to see and do at Fota, so it’s important to take a break and refuel when you can. Both the Savannah Café at the main entrance and the Oasis Café at the far end of the park offer a wide variety of food and drink and plenty of seating. This means you can really take your time and spend the whole day with the family taking in all the park has to offer.
In 2024, Fota opened the new Education, Conservation, and Research Centre (ECRC) as part of the park’s 40th anniversary celebrations. The state-of-the-art facility offers a unique venue for conferences, meetings, and events, a space where the corporate can intermingle with conservation, education, and research.
Fota Wildlife Park is part of the Zoological Society of Ireland and cares for several different animal species in danger of extinction. Through long-established breeding programmes, which are run cooperatively with other institutions around the world, the park is helping restore populations of some species while protecting the very survival of others.
The park opens daily at 9.30am and closes at 6pm with last entry at 4.30pm.